Pin blame on feds for mucking things up

WASHINGTON -- It has been said that the most terrifying words in the English language are, "I'm from the government and I'm here to help."

Never have those words been truer than today as thick, toxic crude oil gels along the shores of one of the most magnificent and valuable estuaries in the world, suffocating dolphins and pelicans, killing off entire links in the food chain and leaving behind a putrid mess that could take a generation to clean up.

As the only entity with oversight authority in waters that lap ashore in five different states, it was your responsibility -- both Democrats and Republicans -- to make sure reasonable safeguards were in place to prevent such a disaster.

It was you who allowed this well to be drilled, you who inspected the rig, and you who gave BP a safety award for the very rig that now lies exploded on the floor of the Gulf, spewing oil.

And, of course, it is the federal government that was responsible for designing the procedures to ensure that a terrible -- but entirely expected -- event such as a rig explosion would not lead to the full-scale environmental catastrophe we now have.

1) Pres_ _ent Obama gets $$$$$ from BP ............. check
"Obama biggest recipient of BP cash
BP and its employees have given more than $3.5 million
to federal …with the largest chunk of their money going to Obama"

"Obama White House and British Petroleum (BP), which pumped $71,000 into Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign
are covering up the magnitude of the volcanic-level oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico"

BP oil leak: Fallen Deepwater Horizon was tapping second largest oil deposit in the world
If there is a single aspect to the dangers of the BP oil leak,
it lies in the question CEO Tony Hayward and other BP executives
have been avoiding since the first drop of oil went rogue: How much oil is leaking?
The real answer is - more than anyone wants to admit,
because the well holds enough oil to make Saudi Arabian drillers jealous."

2) Pres_ _ent Obama exempts BP from normal requirements ......... check
Federal Regulator Repeatedly Failed to Inspect Deepwater Horizon – Including for... Obama Presidency
ABC News has learned that in the 16 months from January 2009 through April 2010
MMS failed to inspect Deepwater Horizon four times – in May 2009, August 2009, December 2009, and January 2010."

"U.S. exempted BP's Gulf of Mexico drilling from environmental impact study"

"Obama admin exempted BP's Gulf drilling from environmental impact study "

"Obama sheltered BP's Deepwater Horizon rig from regulatory requirement"

"Red Flags Were Ignored Aboard Doomed Rig "

"US allowed drilling 'without required permits"

"U.S. Said to Allow Drilling Without Needed Permits
The federal Minerals Management Service gave permission to BP …
to drill in the Gulf of Mexico without first getting required permits "

3) Pres_ _ent Obama and the DNC begin the obstruction ......... check
"Obama sat on sand berm request 2 weeks, still no reply"

"Frustration over sand barriers boils in Louisiana as federal government offers few answers"

President Delays Oil Spill Recovery Efforts For San Francisco Fundraiser With Getty Oil Heirs”

4) Pres_ _ent Obama and the DNC begin the coverup ......... check
"Oil Spill - CBS Threatened With Arrest For Filming The Oil Spill (Coast Guard: "This Is BP's Rules."

"Lab Chosen To Test Oil Spill Water & Animal Samples Has Ties To BP
In addition to this potential conflict of interest, federal officials have mandated that BP
gets to hire the companies that collect data as part of efforts to rescue wildlife covered with oil."

BP reports warning signs before gulf oil rig explosion"

Not to be cynical, but it’s unfortunate this spill didn’t occur before the final vote on health care reform. A government too inept to handle something as relatively simple as an oil spill surely has no business trying to run 1/6 of the U.S. economy. If Obama’s botched handling of this mess had persuaded even 2 House members to doubt reassurances from the Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight about the impact of voting for reform on their electoral prospects, we might have been spared Obamacare altogether.

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